Airship.



GELDNERF AIRSHIP.

APPLIUATION TILED N0". 10, 1909 Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WDWEBS M. GELDNER.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.10, 1909.

w m Patented Feb.11,1913.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' mvavms .L%TKIAAM1.

M. GELDNBR.

AIRSHIP. APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 10, 1969.

1,652,661; Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

l $HEETSSHEET 5,

mnisssss: mvzuron M. GELDNER.

v AIRSHIP. APPLICATION FILED NOV.-10, 1909.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913 7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

M. GELDNER.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1909.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

7 SHEBTSSHEET 7.

"represented in my machine of the Gibbs MAX GELDNER, OF NEW 1003?, NEW" YORK.

AIBSHII.

i ,oseror...

Specification of Letters Patent.

.p ilication filed November 10, 1909. Serial lilo.

To alien/awn it wit concern.

lie it known that l, \X Gnnoivnu, a oiti zen oi the United States, and resident of New Dorp, borough and county of Richmond, city and State. of New York, have in vented new and useful improvements in r iirships, ot' which the following is a speci' fittttltlii My inventum relates princi rally to air- Slllpr, my object being to provide a vehicle, or vessel, apable to travel on land, in the water, or iii the air; or in other words, a combined aeroplane, balloon, automobile, and oat, which easily and positively con trolled at all times, and which is simple and practical in construction and operation.

The fumlamental' principle in construction of my ship came to my mind by observing the movements of the birds, and for this reason I follow much possible the model which nature presents us in the natural flying machine, the birds. The body is by the long shaped balloon, the wings by the'aeroplane on both sides, the neck and head by the triangular front sail, the tail by the semi-ciri-iilar rear sail, the muscles by the motor and the propellers. it we watchthe movements birds, especially the larger and heavier birds. we will observe that same are not able to tly directly from the ground, but

are only able to accomplish this by making several jumps forward, at the same time spreading and working their wings for the purpose of catching and compressing the air under them, which will raise their body from the ground. and only then will commence the real flying wings.v Taking these facts into consideration, I base the construction of my machine on tlie'same prineiplesthat is, by forward motion and the proper mechanism I, successively, throw masses of air power. I begin with a run of the machine, on its own wheels and set in motion by its own motor, over the ground. The. upward turned front sail will catch the air, which will be'driven by the forward motion under the'wings. or aeroplanes, and. as the propellers are rotated at the same time, it will be thrown backward with great force under'the sails," which, having a slight declination toward the rear, will be pressed movements of the under the sails or aeroplanes of the ship for the purpose of compressing same there to such an extent as to producea carrying complish this,

To ac the combmed side aeroplanes, trout and l l l l tion. while throwing at a moderate rate, creates a sllght suction and reduces the downward motionv Should it happen, for

with gradually increasing power upward. The work of the ing a vacuum or suction in frontof the Ve's-' sel, thereby steadily increasing the forward motion of same and thus furnishing a. constantly increasing and abundantcurrent of air, is made complete by the two rear pro pellers in keeping the current of air, increased by their rotating, centered underthe planes, and, as the lowered rear sailwill prevent an abrupt escape of the air, the same will be concentrated to such an extent as to cause the ship to be raised from the ground. This accomplished, the movement of the wheels will be discontinued, the front and rear sails will be set according to the intention of the pilot to sail, upward, in a. horizontal direction, or downward. The propellers, now gaining the full power of the motor, will throw sufiicientcurrents of air under the wings, not only to keep the ship floating, but, the resistance of the air being very trifling, move it forward with great speed and bring it under full control of the vertical rudder (front and rear sail).

and the horizontal rudder attached to the their forward motion, and the wings, permovei'nent, serve the but greatly this fluttering action, until the ground is reached. The operator will, therefore, reduce the motion of the propel: lei-s; the aeroplanes, or wings, will serve as a parachute and to further check the downward movement of the vesseland effect an easy landing, the propellers will be set upward at a slight angle, which operathe air backward, yet

forming a fluttering same purpose as a parachute, assisted by upward ot' the machine to the desired requirements. any reason, that a brealulown of the motor might occur, then rear sail, assisted by the balloon, will serve as a parachute and prevent a probable dis astrous accident.

The following is a description and specification of my airship,

together with accompanying drawings for detailed explanation! Figure 1 is a side elevation of my ship. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 2* view of one of the propellers and support Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

front propellers, in creatis a plan f with driving mechanism, part of the same broken away. Fig. 3 a plan view of the boat or gondola. Fig. 4 is a top view of balloon and aeroplanes. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the machine. Fig. 6 is a sketch of the movable feature of the propellers.-

Fig. 6 is' a View looking upwardly at Fig. 6 with part broken away. Fig. 6 is a side elevation with pa broken away illustrating the mechanism for changing the thrust of the propeller. 6 is another view of Fig. 6 showing the position of the propeller after its line of thrust has been changed. Fig. 7 is a plan view of another form of my invention, with parts broken away and omitted for the sake of clearness.

My ship, or vehicle, comprises a body 1, Figs. 1, 2, 3, which may be in the shape of a heat, through the bottom of which, near the frontor the bow thereof, extends the steering rod 2, which terminates in fork 3, Fig. 5. =The said rod 2 is provided at its upper end with a steering apparatus, or handwheel 4; for swinging the wheel which journaled in the fork A suitable watertight packing, or stufling box, is provided in the bottom, through which the rod 2 passes. Near the stern, the'body 1 is provided with. wheels 6 secured to the opposite ends of shaft 7, which wheels may be provided with the usual spokes, and, if so desired, with removable blades 8 fastened to the spokes for driving the vessel through the water. The said shaft 7 passes t rough suitable watertight stutiing boxes located in each side of the body 1. It will be seen that when the vessel travels on land, the body 1 will be inclined upward toward the how, the reason for which is more fully explained hereafter. A sprocket wheel 9 is secured to the shaft and is connected by means of a sprocket chain 10, with another sprocket Wheel 11 loosely mouuted'on the driving shaft 12 of the motor 13 A clutch 1 1 is suitably mounted on said shaft 12 to rotate therewith, and is adapted for clutching engagement with the sprocket'wheel 11. This clutch may be of any suitable and wellknown construction, and is operated by means of a lever 15 pivoted to stationary part of the vessel. Uprights, or standards, 16 are secured to the body 1- and support at their up per ends a frame in orm of a parallelogram, comprising s l7 and crossbars 18. This frame may be constructed in an length according to the size of the machme and the weight same e. .eted to carry; it stands about 5% of its length higher in front than in the rear and the standards it are, therefore, longer at the front end than at the rear end of ee machine. '50 the said cro sailyards 18, which et-rnd outwardly beyond the sidebars 17 and have their ends curved downwa dly strewn in. 2.

Jars are secured foldi The sailyards 18 are removable and are secured to the bars 18, the ends of which ex tend a little over sidebars 17 and are pro vided with screwworms, by means of a coupling 18 of any suitable kind.

Movable frames 19 and 19 are hinged to 'the crossbars 18 and carry aeroplanes, or

sails, 20 and 20-; the frame and aeroplane 19 and 20 at the frontof the vessel being triangular in shape, while the frame 19, with its aeroplane 20 at the stern, is semicircular in shape.

Standards 21 project upwardly from the sidebars 17 and converge toward the top to a central point and are provided at their upper ends with pulleys 22 and eyelets to fasten on the latter, the several bracing ropes or Wires of the sailyards carrying the aeroplanes 31 and their own bracing toward each other and to the crossbars 18. A cable 23 passes over said pulleys 22 from the point of the aeroplane frame 19 to the center of the outside edge of the frame 19f, thus c011- nccting said frames together, Fig. 1. Similar cables 24; and-24 have their one end secured to the lower side of said frames 19 and 19 and havethe other ends fastened to pulleys and 25. Operating cables 26 and; I

26 are fastened at one end to the standard 16 and pass through the said pulleys 25 and 25', over the pulleys 30, secured to the oppositestandards 16, to drums 27 and 27 of winches, Figs. 1,3,wh1ch are geared together to rotate inopposite direction by means of cog-wheels 28 and 28. One of the said winches is provided with an operating handle, or handwhcel 20 for rotating said drums and thus winding one cable on the one drum, while, at the same time, unwinding the other cable from the other drum to raise one aeroplane 20 or 20*, Figs. 1, 5, and lower the other one, as will be more clearly described hereinafter.

Aeroplanes, or sails 31 have their one edge secured to one of the sidebars 17, and are movably secured to the sailyards 18 by means of loops, or rings 32. The free edges of said. aeroplanes 31 are secured to yards 33, having eyelets 341 at their ends through which the sailyards 18 extend, so that said yards 33 may be moved back and forth on said sailyards 18 and with them, 'at the same time, the aeroplanes 31 attached to them. The said yards 33, when thesails 31 in their operating position, also serve to maintain the sailyards 18 in steady relation to each other and act as braces to prevent sailyards 18 from being bent toward each other as the air bulges the sail upwardly. lhilleys and tackles may be provided for and unfolding said aeroplanes 31 ly 1 by sliding the said yards ...ilyar'ds 15 in one direction or from balloon, or gas bag, which is lo- 2, 3,.and and at the rear ends bevel pinions '62. These bevel pinions 62 mesh with similar bevel pinions 63 mounted on both ends of a shaft (54 extending crosswise of the vessel and journaled in bearings- 65 secured to the rear side of crossbar 60. The said shaft 64 carries a sprocket wheel 66, which is.

. rangement and description will be exactly the same as described herebefore in regard to propellers 47. Both pairs of propellers 47 and 49 are left and right handed respectively, which work'in opposite direction, preferably toward inside to produce thexbest results and prevent the ship from turning around its own. vertical axis.

A rudder 70 is pivotally mounted on a support 71 at the rear of the vessel to swing in a horizontal plane, and is connected by means of cables 72 with a drum 73 in such a manner that when the drum 7 3 is rotated in one direction, one cable will be unwound while the other is wound on said drum.73. The cables 72 pass over pulleys'72 secured to outwardly extending lugs 72 arranged at convenient points on'stationary portions of the vessel. The said lugs 7 2 extend out far. enough from the sides of the boat to avoid any possibility of the rudder 70 reaching a dead point, as it is manipulated. The drum 73 is secured to a rod 74 mounted to rotate and is provided with an operating handwheel 75. A ratchet 76 is also secured to the rod 74 adjacent to the bottom of the boat and coiiperates with a pawl. 77 to pre- -vent accidental movements of thedrum 73 in either direction. The pawl 77 is pivoted to the bottom of the vessel and is provided with an extension 7 7, adapted to be engaged by the foot of the operator for releasing the pawl 77 from engagement with the ratchet 76. Thus, as the handwhcel 75, isv turned in one direction; or the other, the rudder will be correspondingly swung to one side or the driving connection with the motors. {shaft 38 and 38" carries a bevel pinion sible, against'the direction of the wind. In.

case the machine should accidentally land in the water, or for any other reason it is desired to travel in water, the rear wheels 6 will be connected by lever 15 with the motor shaft, and will, through the medium of the blades attached to these wheels and acting as paddles, drive the ship through the water. The remainder of the machinery might be disconnected from the motor shaft, or might be used, just as may be found Tn'acticable.

When traveling; on land, the front wheel 5 serves as a rudder, or steering wheel; when traveling in water, either the said wheel 5 or the rudder may be used to guide the vessel. For traveling purposes, on land or water, the sailyards 18 and their connected parts may be disconnected from the crossbars 18 and stored in the gondola or boat 1 while under way. machine after arrival at the place of ascension may be done easily and without much loss of time.

It is to be understood that each pair of propellers may be worked from one shaft as described, or each of the propellers may be revolved by its own separate shaft connected by separate sprocket and clutch mech- The remounting of the anism forsuch case. with the two motor driving shafts l9 and L2 as shown in Fig.

t. In this'case. the separate shafts 38 and 38 are mounted in stationary bearings 39 and 39, secured to a crossbar 4.0, which is supported on the front standards 16, each shaft being connected by separate sprocket wheels 55 and 55 by means of sprocket chains 56 and 56, with sprocket wheels 57 and 57 attached to motor shafts. Separate clutches and levers 58- and 58 areprovided for throwing either or both chains and sprocket mechanisms into or out of Ea ch 52' and 42 respectively in engagement with similar pinions 43 and l t" mounted on short shafts 4+ and it, to which the propellers 47 and 4:7 are secured. The bearings-in which the short shafts H and 44 are 'journaled are carried by the crossbar 4O hereinhefore mentionml. Similar separate shafts (34 and (34 are journulcd in stationary bearings 65" and 65 mountedon a crossbar (30, secured to the middle standards 16, similar to the bar .0, and are connected by separate sprocket wheels (30 and 66 at tached thereto, by means of chains (37 and 67" with separate sprocket wheels 68* and 68 carried by motor shafts. Clutches and levers. 6 and 69 are provided for connect ing or disconnecting the sprocket mechanisms 69 and 69 from the driving motor si'iafts. the end a bevel pinion 63 and 63, respectively, in engagement with similar piuions 62 and 62 mounted on short shafts 61 Each shaft 6i and. 64 carries: at

' The steering of lhe to actuate each propeller,

and 61 joumaled in stetioneiy, bearings carried by crossbar 60. Propellers 59 and 59 res eciivel" are secured to the bow-ends of the shoris'sliefts to rotetetherewith.

In other respects, this form of my new chine may be the same that shown in Figs. 1,2, 3, 4-,. 5 and 6, it understood that in Fig? lL'lQ soils and 2%, their connected parts as Well the two steering mechanisms and the c'urnable beam in Fig, 6 and l'he propellers e7 zitcached thereto hove been omitted for the sake of clearness: ln this lost form, ii is thus possible separately or at didereni speeds, or in different directions. hip may thus be xeatly assisted by revolying one propeller than the other, or, if e heavy side Wind should prev-ail, to revolve only the propeller 59 on the oil side of the Wind; this will greatly assist in keeping ihe ship in a stable position, as Well in she as also in case it has to travel e considerable distance on land or in the water.

The preceding description or mymochinc rcfcrrin; to such with. full equipment only, thatv is in lhe water, or in the air, Should the 1X1ichine be iulcnded to be used in the air, combined with use on land only, it may be con-- structed for lighter uud, thereforgdm more adopted to show its quulificalions to fly in the air. In such case, the frame of the boat will be constructed oilight wood. Work, preferably ash, the sides of some covered Willi canvas or aluminum sheathing, or may col '0 one qualified for use on land,

for the rotation of the remaining pair of prqueilers in front. The spofn of Wings and able for sporting as Well as for military and naval purposes.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an aeronautical epparatuga central longitudinally extending balloon, support ing; planes extending laterally therefrom and declining to the rear of said balloon, a Lrizi-ngular elevating surface hinged to the front edges of said supporting surfaces with its point forward, a semi-circular tail surface hinged to the rear edges of said sup-. porting surfaces with its curved side rearward, and propellers at the front and center on opposite sides of said apparatue.

2. In an aeronautical apparatus, a central longitudinally extending balloon, supporting planes extending laterally therefrom and declining to the rear of said balloon, a triangular elevating surface hinged to the front edges of said supporting surfaces with. its point forward, a semi-circular tail surface hinged to the rear edges of said supporting surfaces with its curved side rear wzu'd, :iud propellers at the front and center on opposite sides of said apparatus, said supporting surfaces curved longitudinally and hinged along their inner edges, and means for raising and lowering the same.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses. V 1

MAX GELDNER. 1). of]

Witnesses lW. Lnsmn CoNNEn,

W. BRANDENBERG. 

